Bashiruddin Babu Khan passes away

Former Andhra Pradesh minister and eminent Muslim leader Bashiruddin Babu Khan died here Sunday following a prolong illness. He was 73.

Khan, a former leader of the Telugu Desam Party (TDP), served as minister in the cabinets of N.T. Rama Rao and N. Chandrababu Naidu.

He held portfolios of higher education, industries, tourism and minorities welfare.

In 1998, he resigned as minister and quit the TDP when the party supported the BJP-led government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Since then, he has been associated with various organisations working to uplift Muslims on the educational front.

Khan was elected a member of the legislative assembly in 1985 and 1994 from Nizamabad.

A leading builder, he is the man behind several multistoried complexes in Hyderabad including Babu Khan Estate, a landmark near L.B. Stadium.

Before joining the TDP in 1980s, Khan was with the Congress. His father Khan Bahadur Abdul Karim Babu Khan built 'Gandhi Bhavan' here and donated it to the Congress. It remains the party headquarters in the state.